Alice Claypoole Vanderbilt

Alice Claypoole Gwynne Vanderbilt (November 11, 1845 – April 24, 1934) was the wife of Cornelius Vanderbilt II and reigned as the matriarch of the Vanderbilt family for over 60 years.[1]

Alice Claypoole Vanderbilt
Gwynne as "The Electric Light" at a costume ball on March 26, 1883
Born
Alice Claypoole Gwynne

(1845-11-11)November 11, 1845
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
DiedApril 24, 1934(1934-04-24) (aged 88)
Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Spouse(s)
​
(
m. 1867; died 1899)
ChildrenAlice Gwynne Vanderbilt
William Henry Vanderbilt II
Cornelius Vanderbilt III
Gertrude Vanderbilt
Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt
Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt
Gladys Moore Vanderbilt
Parent(s)Abraham Evan Gwynne
Rachel Moore Flagg

Early life
Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt II and her daughters, Gladys and Gertrude, having tea in the library at the Breakers, Newport, Rhode Island. (William Bruce Ellis Ranken, 1932)

Alice Claypoole Gwynne was born on November 11, 1845 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Alice, who was also raised in Cincinnati, was a daughter of Rachel Moore (née Flagg) and lawyer Abraham Evan Gwynne. After her father's death in 1855, her mother remarried to Albert Mathews, who wrote under the name Paul Siogvolk.[1] Alice's siblings included David Eli Gwynne, Abram Evan Gwynne, Cettie Moore (née Gwynne) Shepherd, and Edith Olivia (née Gwynne) Gill.[2]

She was a granddaughter of Henry Collins Flagg, a former mayor of New Haven, Connecticut, and a great-great granddaughter of Major Ebenezer Flagg, who served in the 1st Rhode Island Regiment during the American Revolution, and who was killed in action in 1781. Her maternal uncles were George Whiting Flagg, a painter,[3] and Jared Bradley Flagg, also a painter and real estate developer.[4] Through Jared Flagg, she was a first cousin of Ernest Flagg, an American architect.

Alice was from an old Rhode Island family and among her ancestors was Roger Williams, who founded the State of Rhode Island, and Samuel Ward Sr., a former Rhode Island Governor. Many Flagg family members are buried in Newport's Island Cemetery.[5] Alice's affection for Newport reflected this association of her earliest colonial ancestors with the city.[5]

Married life
Alice and her daughter, Gertrude in 1895.

While teaching Sunday school at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in New York, she met Cornelius Vanderbilt II, the eldest son of William Henry Vanderbilt and Maria Louisa Kissam. They were married on February 4, 1867 at the Church of the Incarnation on Madison Avenue in New York. Together, Alice and Cornelius were the parents of four sons and three daughters:[1][5]

Alice Vanderbilt's husband died of a cerebral hemorrhage on September 12, 1899 at their New York home at 1 West 57th Street.[12] His estate at the time of his death was appraised at $72,999,867 (equivalent to $2.24 billion[13] in 2019 dollars[13]), $20 million of which was real estate.[14]

Alice lived another 35 years until her death on April 22, 1934 at her home at 1 East 67th Street in Manhattan, where she had moved after the sale of the 57th Street mansion in 1925 (it was demolished in 1926).[1] Her youngest daughter, Countess Széchenyi, inherited both the massive summer "cottage" The Breakers, in Newport, and her mother's last New York townhouse, the former residence of George Jay Gould Sr. Gertrude received the proceeds from the sale of 1 West 57th Street, totaling $7,000,000.

Real estate
Vanderbilt's Newport cottage, The Breakers, built in 1893 by Richard Morris Hunt.

Alice was responsible for constructing several massive family houses, including the enlargement of 1 West 57th Street, making it the largest private residence to ever be built in an American city at the time. She also played a role in constructing The Breakers, in Newport.

In 1914, she was responsible for the construction of the Gwynne Building in Cincinnati, Ohio, site of the first shop of Procter & Gamble, later the company's headquarters.[5] After her death, her son Neily received ownership of the Gwynne Building.[5]

Philanthropy

Alice donated to various charitable causes. Throughout her life she was a large supporter of the YMCA, Salvation Army, Red Cross, Trinity Church and St. Bartholomew's Church. She and her husband donated Vanderbilt Hall to Yale College in memory of their eldest son, Bill, a student there when he died in 1892. She gave the front gates to her former mansion on Fifth Avenue to be placed in Central Park. Mrs. Vanderbilt also donated a facility to Newport Hospital in 1903 in memory of her husband, Cornelius.[5]

Descendants

Through her son, Reginald, Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt was the grandmother of Cathleen Vanderbilt, Gloria Laura Vanderbilt, the socialite and fashion designer, and the great-grandmother of news anchor Anderson Hays Cooper and his late brother, Carter Vanderbilt Cooper.[15]

Through her son, Alfred, Alice was the grandmother of William Henry Vanderbilt III, Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Jr., and George Washington Vanderbilt III.[15]

See also

References
  1. "Mrs. Vanderbilt Sr. Dies In Home At 89. Widow Of Financier, Long Ill. Was A Leader In Brilliant Era Of New York Society". The New York Times. April 23, 1934.
  2. Flagg, Ernest (1926). Genealogical Notes on the Founding of New England: My Ancestors Part in that Undertaking. Genealogical Publishing Com. pp. 7, 105, 118, 135, 136, 139, 144. ISBN 9780806305332. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  3. "DEATH LIST OF A DAY; George W. Flagg". The New York Times. January 12, 1897. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  4. "Jared B. Flagg". The Sun. New York City. September 26, 1899. p. 9. Retrieved May 3, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Arthur T. Vanderbilt II (1989). Fortune's Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt. New York: Morrow. ISBN 0-688-07279-8.
  6. "Gen. C. Vanderbilt Dies On His Yacht. Great-Grandson and Namesake of Commodore Succumbs in Miami to Brain Hemorrhage. Family With Him At End. He Won Distinction as Soldier, Inventor, Engineer, Yachtsman. Often Host to Royalty". The New York Times. Associated Press. March 2, 1942.
  7. Times Wide World (27 October 1930). "H.P. WHITNEY DIES AT 58 OF PNEUMONIA; ILL ONLY A FEW DAYS; Sportsman and Financier Succumbs Unexpectedly at HisFifth Avenue Home.CAUGHT COLD ON TUESDAY His Wife, the Former GertrudeVanderbilt, and Their ThreeChildren at Bedside.HE INHERITED A FORTUNE Built Up Vast Properties and Became One of Nation's Richest Men-- Famed for Racing Stables. One of America's Richest Men. H.P. WHITNEY DIES AT 58 OF PNEUMONIA Heir to Wealth and Prestige. Guggenheim Guided His Start. Known Also as Dog Fancier. Many Concerns Now Merged". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  8. "Mrs. H.P. Whitney, sculptor, Is Dead". The New York Times. April 18, 1942. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  9.  Homans, James E., ed. (1918). "Vanderbilt, Alfred Gwynne" . The Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: The Press Association Compilers, Inc.
  10. "Reginald Vanderbilt Dies Suddenly Today". The Meridien Daily Journal. 4 September 1925. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  11. Times, Special To The New York (4 October 1907). "MISS VANDERBILT WILL WED A COUNT; Gladys, Youngest Daughter of Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt, the Financee of Laszlo Szechenyi. HUNGARIAN HERE FOR BRIDE Young Court Chamberlain Is a Guest at the Breakers, Newport -- Betrothal Made in Europe Last Summer". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  12. "MR. CORNELIUS VANDERBILT DEAD; Succumbed Suddenly Yesterday to Cerebral Hemorrhage. DUE TO STROKE OF PARALYSIS Wife and Daughter Gladys Only Members of His Family With Him. He Had Come to This City on Monday from Newport to Attend a Railroad Meeting -- Funeral Services to be Held on Friday". The New York Times. 13 September 1899. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  13. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  14. "C. Vanderbilt's Personal Estate" (PDF). The New York Times. December 12, 1900. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  15. Vanderbilt, 173-185.
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